Apple’s first 5G modem looks to be a success
The iPhone 16e’s 5G modem has outperformed the iPhone 16’s in some tests
Its lack of mmWave support might be the only thing holding it back
This bodes well for future iPhones and future versions of this modem
One interesting aspect of the iPhone 16e is that it uses Apple’s C1 modem. This is Apple’s first in-house 5G modem, and so far the iPhone 16e is the only device you’ll find it in.
With this being a cheaper phone than the rest of the iPhone 16 series you might expect the C1 to trail the Qualcomm modem used in those, but in fact tests suggest the C1 might offer better performance in most situations.
Ookla (via 9to5Mac) has collected data from iPhone 16 and iPhone 16e users in the US, and found that the iPhone 16e offers 10th percentile download speeds of 27.
